Waiting For Tomorrow
by MysticalFireofDeath
Summary: Germany 1939. With Arnold sent off to war, Helga could only watch from her hometown as everything began to change. More people were disappearing and it was getting harder everyday to hide Jews in her home. And she knew it was only a matter of time before her world would come crashing down and she was left fending for herself, she just didn't think it would be that soon.


_**Warning: Viewer Discretion is Advised.**_

 _ **Note: First and Foremost, this story is set back during the Reign of Nazis and during the Holocaust. There are a lot of facts in here that are going to be true. This story does revolve around Arnold and Helga and their journey through the most terrifying time our world has ever faced. Events in this story are going to relate a lot to what actually happened and I do not wish to offend or trigger anyone's feelings in this. There will be rude sayings and things that you are going to find just downright cruel, but please remember, the Holocaust was not a friendly time to be in.**_

 _ **A lot of this story contains a bunch of true historic facts and it's going to be**_ **very** ** _educational and enlighten you with things that you may or may not have learned in school._**

 ** _On that note, the first few chapters will be slow. It's going to be explaining a lot to you about what is going to be happening during this period of time._**

 ** _German Translations are at the end of every chapter._**

 ** _Rated T for intense and scary parts._**

 ** _You have been warned._**

 **VE-Day May 8, 1945-**

 **Helga's Letter to Phoebe-Not yet Sent**

 _Dear Phoebe,_

 _It's over…the war. We finally have done away with the horrors which were caused by the Führer. I don't know how long it'll be before I can make my way to America, where you are. I know that it'll take a while, but I must find my beloved…surely he could still be alive?_

 _Oh, Phoebe…please tell me you have seen him somewhere? I can only hang on to the hope that he is still very much alive. I hope he wasn't that badly injured at the camp. My heart cannot bear anymore anguish than it has too. God knows it nearly died when I found out he was taken to a camp. It was somewhere in Berlin I believe…_

 _My dear friend, please write to me soon! I must know if Arnold was able to escape…to go and hide somewhere safe. I have already started my journey to the first camp here in Germany. You won't believe the atrocities that have occurred here. My bones ache and my body shivers as if I can feel all the poor souls who have died here. I cannot stop the tears that leak out of my eyes as I think of what it was my dear brave Arnold had to face. There are many sympathetic looks given to me by Gestapos-or men and women who_ once _were. I wish that I could forgive these people and offer a sorrowful smile of my own. But my blood only boils with anger and hate as I think of what they could've put my love through._

 _My closest friend, Phoebe, I must stop my writing here. Lord knows I wish to write more, but I have to search for Arnold. I have high hopes that he may be alive…I just need to find him._

 _God be with you, Phoebe, tell Gerald I say hi and that I will not stop my search until I have Arnold safe in my arms._

 _With love,_

 _Helga G. Pataki_

 _P.s I guess I should've mentioned this before, my dear friend, but it seems that Arnold and I will not return empty handed. Yes, my friend, remember that letter I sent back a year ago after Arnold was gone? Well…it seems he did not leave me by my lonesome. Oh, Phoebe, Arnold has given me the greatest gift I could ever ask from him; a child._

 _A beautiful baby girl I have named,_ Magnhilda Siege Shortman _. She's Five years old now and is the sweetest child I've ever known. She most certainly takes after her father, even managing to capture his bright green eyes and smile. I hope you can meet her soon, and I hope Arnold will too._

The blonde gave a short sigh as her eyes skimmed across the letter. Satisfied, she let the ink dry before folding it and placing it in an envelope. Sealing the letter, she placed a stamp on it and an address. Stretching, she stood up, pulling her light pink robe tight around her body as she walked to the window. Her blue eyes scanned over the buzzing people on the street floor below her apartment. She ran a hand through her blonde locks before resting her head against the cooling glass. It had been too long since she'd seen him. She closed her eyes, letting out a deep breathe before opening her eyes, now filled with tears. She stared up a star, _their_ star. It was the brightest star out there. She placed a trembling hand against the window pane, "Oh, Arnold…" She sighed, her voice shaky, "…where have you gone?"

 **January 30, 1933: Hitler is Chancellor**

It was an oddly cold and chilly day as Helga G. Pataki woke up. She shivered slightly despite her blankets being warm and snug. She cracked her eyes open slowly, staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. She slowly rose up out of bed, licking her lips and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She let out a sigh, "I hate school…" she griped to herself as she got up from bed. She shivered as her feet touched the cold floor. Walking over to the window, she pulled the curtain back slightly and opened the blinds a little, she could see a crowd of people outside. She frowned and left the window, quickly putting on her clothes and doing her hair into two pigtails, topping it off with her infamous pink bow.

Walking out of her room, she skipped down the stairs, "Bob? Miriam?" She called out, glancing around the room. She could hear the TV going off in the living room, but it wasn't the usual game going on-no…this time it sounded like…the news? Frowning, she walked to the living room. Needless to say, she was surprised to find _both_ her parents sitting in front of the TV, "Um…guys, what's going on?" She asked with a little bit of worry. Her parents never acted like this. Bob looked away from the TV, his eyes meeting hers and he frowned.

"Olga, why aren't you happy?" He barked, his deep voice breaking the eerie silence. Helga jumped a bit before scowling and crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's _Helga_ , Bob," she retorted before her scowl turned into confusion, "Happy? What's there to be happy about?" She questioned. Bob stood up and Miriam gaped at her.

"You mean you haven't heard?" Came her mom's slurred and tired voice. She shook her head, the whole scene was confusing as it was, so she was completely taken aback by the question.

"No, Miriam, I just woke up," She said. Bob frowned.

"Just woke up? Don't you have school?" He asked. She gasped, her mind having forgotten about that.

"Crimeny! I forgot!" She yelled, turning around and running to the front door, not giving her parents a chance to explain or even try to stop her. She stormed out into the chilly weather and hopped down her porch steps, she sighed, beginning her trek to the bus stop. She paused however as she noticed the crowd from earlier still standing where they were. She was shocked to hear shouting and screaming from the large circle.

" _Schmutziges Schwein! Schmutziges Schwein!_ " She heard a man shout. Her curiosity clouding her judgment, Helga ran towards the circle, squeezing past the onslaught of Germans to try and see who they were talking. Her eyes widened as she saw two teenagers, boy and girl. Jewish by the looks of it. She gasped and ran to them without thinking.

" _Hör auf! Hör auf! Was ist los mit euch Menschen!?_ " She snarled as she fought the people away from the frightened Jews. The Germans around her gaped at her with a look of surprise and some of them disgust. She narrowed her eyes at them all and pointed a finger, " _Sie taten nichts Falsch! Sie hatte keinen Grund zum Angriff!_ " She bellowed. She looked back to the Jews, they had wide and frightened eyes, but there was a sense of comfort to them when they stared at her, "Can you speak English?" She asked them, kneeling down next to them both. They nodded, flinching only a little as she touched both their shoulders, "Good, now go ahead and get out of here," then in a much lower voice that sounded threatening to anyone listening, she whispered, "and pretend I said something horrible and act like I pinched you or something," she said. They nodded, the fear returning to their faces before they stood up and scrambled off.

She turned back to the Germans who seemed a bit confused at how fearful the teens had looked compared to how she had acted just a moment ago. She gave a cocky smirk and laughed, " _Dachte Sie nicht, dass ich ernst, war Meinst Du?_ " She grinned with a wink. The people visibly relaxed before they all joined in her boisterous laughing. She mentally sighed with relief, it was stupid of her to interfere like that, she knew, but she also knew she couldn't just let them gang up on innocent people.

" _Was hat dir erzählt ihnen, das machte sie weglaufen mit Angst?_ " One person, a woman asked. Helga merely smirked and gave a look that said it all. The Germans smiled and patted her back before they walked off, going their separate ways. All except for an officer who gave her a pointed look.

"That was a nice trick you played on us," He said, his accent thick and heavy, "don't let it happen again, little girl." He grunted before walking away, making Helga slouch a little with relief. She was lucky they all bought her little plan, she only hoped she would have the same luck the next time.

Remembering what she was supposed to be doing, she cursed and ran. She was just about to miss the bus when she reached the stop and managed to board it before it left. The driver gave her a small glare for being late, but she ignored it. Slumping into the nearest seat, Helga gave a sigh and closed her eyes, that is, before she heard someone shift next to her. She opened them immediately, ready to yell at the jerk who had _dared_ to interrupt her space. However, the words she had ready to say, died in her throat as she saw who it was. She nearly fainted at the sight.

It was her crush, the one boy in the whole world who had her heart snatched in his clutches. His blonde hair was an unruly mess around his oblong head, his deep jelly bean green eyes caught her blue ones, and his charming smile nearly made her swoon. This young man, was none other than Arnold Shortman, a twelve year old just like her. She had practically known him her whole life. But they weren't friends or anything. It was more along the lines of a mutual understanding, which brought her back to real life.

"What do you think you are _doing_ , Football Head?" She growled at him, a scowl on her face. He only smiled, giving her that half lidded look that always made her internally die with happiness. She swallowed, trying not to let his face affect her.

"Well, last I checked, I was sitting here next you, Helga," He replied. She frowned and crossed her arms.

"Exactly, geek bait," She huffed, "who said you _could_ sit here next to me?" She sneered. He merely rolled his eyes.

"No one, I just thought you could use company," He shrugged.

"Well I don't. Now why don't _you_ go back and sit with tall hair boy," She snipped. Turning her back to him and looking out the window, how far was their school anyways? Arnold sighed and looked down at his lap.

"I can't, he was dropped off at school today," he explained, "his parents were worried he'd get attacked…"

That caught her attention and she looked back at him, "Attacked? What do you mean?" She asked, unaware of the caring tone in her voice. However, she realized her mistake by the look of shock on Arnold's face, "Don't take that the wrong way, loser," She snapped, "it's not like I care…or anything…" She trailed off. But Arnold didn't buy it. Or if he did, she wouldn't know since he continued on to answer her question.

"Well, as you may have heard, Hitler was announced Chancellor of Germany today," He said, Helga's eyes widened and if she was drinking anything, she most certainly would've spit it out. She gaped at him.

"Chancellor?" She repeated. He frowned, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Yeah…" He drawed out slowly, nodding his head, "weren't you watching the news this morning?" he asked her. She shook her head. So that's what Bob and Miriam were happy about…figures they would be, her dad was always against the Jews, always making comments that they deserved to be treated like animals because 'that's what they were'. Not that she believed in that stuff anyways, but she didn't dare speak out against him, especially since she knew what her dad would do to her if she did. But still…it was shocking to know that Adolf Hitler would rule over them now.

"Helga?" Arnold questioned. She jumped and looked up at him.

"What?" She asked before shaking her head, "I mean…no, I didn't know that. I was running late for school, so I didn't get to see the news," She replied. He nodded.

"Well…it's nothing to get excited about," He sighed, "it's just…now that he's ruler…people are going to be twice as harsh. And well…Gerald isn't exactly accepted here, y'know?" He frowned. She nodded, finally understanding why he was down. Anyone who wasn't the standardized German or considered a threat was highly preyed upon.

"Yeah…I see your point…" She said quietly, however before Arnold could say anything, they were interrupted by Sid and Stinky.

"Boy howdy, Arnold," Stinky chirped as he and Sid plopped down in the seat in front of them, "ain't it great that Hitler's Chancellor? It'd be nice to see Germany prosper again!" he beamed. Helga's scowl returned.

"Hey! Who said you could gather here?" She hissed.

"Isn't it!" Chimed in Sid, ignoring what Helga had said, "How do you feel about it, Arnold?" He asked. The said being jumped out of his thoughts and he smiled.

"Oh…well, gee, I don't know, Sid," he said sheepishly, "it's kind of too early to say…but hopefully we can get Germany out of this gloomy mood and into a brighter future, hm?" He grinned. Sid and Stinky smiled back and laughed.

"You can say that again, Arnold!" Stinky smiled before turning to Helga, whose mood had turned sour during their discussion, "What about you, Helga? How do you reckon this'll effect our fair country?" She looked up at them, forcing her eye not to twitch.

"I _reckon_ you won't live to see the day if you don't shove off!" She growled, her voice heavy with anger and annoyance. Stinky and Sid blanched and held their hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright, sheesh," Sid said, "It was just a simple question." But none the less, the two boys had scurried off to a new seat. Helga let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally!" She said, rubbing her temples, "I thought they'd never leave."

"You know, Helga, you never did answer Stinky's question," Arnold suddenly said making her jolt.

"Crimeny, Football Head," She growled, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She said, trying to calm her breathing. Arnold frowned and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Sorry Helga, I thought you knew I was still here," He murmured. She frowned.

"Well I didn't. I thought you had taken the hint too and left," in truth, she was happy Arnold hadn't left. She enjoyed his company greatly and it helped to take her mind off some things. Like the dreading feeling in her stomach. She could just feel something bad was going to happen. But she didn't know _what_. And it bugged her.

"You're avoiding the question, Helga," Arnold pointed out, making her scowl again.

"So what if I am, hair boy?" She retorted. He shrugged.

"I just want to know why," he responded, "I really do want to hear your input on this situation." She stared out the window and smiled as the bus stopped.

"Well, looks like it's going to have to wait because we're at school!" She said, pushing past him and making her way out. Arnold stood up and called after her, but she pretended not to hear him and forced her way through the crowd. She knew she was avoiding the question, but you couldn't blame her. Now that Hitler was Chancellor, she was sure that there were ears everywhere. If anyone so much as made an opinion that didn't agree with him, there were bound to be punishments, and she'd rather not be the first to find out.

Entering her classroom, Helga was surprised to see how much it had changed. There were few desks and plenty of benches around tables. She looked to the front of the class and was surprised to see a picture of Hitler at the front. She held back her annoyance and sat at an empty desk in the back as more of the students entered, each one surprised by the sudden change. There was a sudden throat being cleared and Helga quirked an eyebrow before she noticed that her teacher was a new one. She frowned, likewise to the new one standing at the desk.

"Miss Pataki," He began, his voice cold, "were you not aware of the new changes made in the system?" He asked her. She could feel her face heat up and she shook her head.

"Well other than what you've done to the classroom, not really…no…" She said nervously. Her teacher walked over to her, his face serious and his mouth formed in a thin line. He narrowed his eyes and reached for her, roughly pulling her out of her seat. She yelped.

"Hey! What the-!" She was stopped as the teacher struck her cheek. His eyes narrowed at hers.

"You will speak to me with respect," He hissed angrily as she rubbed her sore cheek-he had not held back. She was slouching a little and was suddenly gripped by the arm and pulled to the front of the classroom. A bunch of eyes were on her and she couldn't stop her face from heating up, "Listen up, class!" Their teacher's voice bellowed. Everyone stopped their snickering and chatter and stared in fear at him, "Let this be an example _and_ lesson to you," He said sternly, his blue eyes glancing at Helga. She gulped, but didn't dare budge. He smirked and continued on.

"Your old teacher, Mr. Simmons, has been released due to certain racial issues," He said. Everyone let out a quiet noise that sounded like surprised gasps, "Therefore, _I_ am your new teacher, Mr. Ackermann," He said, "and boys and girls, this year can be a smooth one for you if you cooperate or it can be a _very_ displeasing one," He smirked, squeezing Helga's arm tightly, making her wince, "Now, first of all, when you walk into this room, you are to salute me and say, ' _Heil Hitler!_ ' at all times," He said, looking back at Helga he grinned, "You will demonstrate for the class, Miss Pataki," he mused. She scowled, which only made his smirk grow.

"Heil Hitler," She said, she felt another _smack_ against her cheek and she forced herself not to budge much to the teacher's approval.

" _Dumme Kinder!_ " He insulted, "You will say it with respect and hold your arm out at forty degree angle," He snapped. She held her glowering gaze at him and was about to do it again before he butted in, "And stand up straight! How can the future youth of the _Führer_ slouch like that?" He hissed, "Do it again!"

She felt her patience thinning and she held back a huff. Straightening her back, she narrowed her eyes forward and held her arm out, " _Heil Hitler!_ " She saluted properly. Mr. Ackermann smiled proudly and patted her back.

" _Sehr gut!_ " He praised, "Very good, now go take a seat in the front," He said. She said nothing but rejoined her peers, this time sitting in the front.

And with that, the day proceeded, but not the same as Helga grew up to know. No, everything around her was changing rapidly and she barely had time to register anything at all, but the gnawing feeling in her stomach that everything they were doing…was completely _wrong_.

 _German Translations:_

Man in beginning: " _Filthy Swine! Filthy Pig!_ "

Helga: " _Stop it! Stop it! What's the matter with you people!?_... _They did nothing wrong! You had no reason to attack!_... _You didn't think I was serious did you?_ "

Woman: _"What did you tell them that made them run with fear?_ "

Mr. Ackermann: " _Stupid child!_ "… _Very good!_ "

 _German Words:_

 ** _Führer-_** leader, ruler


End file.
